Dante Seraphon
Dante Seraphon is the current Chapter Master of the Blaze Ravens and former Imperial Fist. He is also known by his title as the Lord of Ash. History Early Life Dante was born on a small industrial world called Vilamere. Little information exist regarding his parents and he himself does not know them. In his earliest days, Dante was raised in a very small local orphanage. He immediately stood out from the rest due to his frightening appearance, and was often treated as a pariah by his caretakers. But he did have the advantage of his intellect, even at a very young age he displayed a sharp intellect and ability to learn. He memorized lock combinations and studied the patterns of the caretakers daily rounds. Very soon he was able to slip in and out of the orphanage without being noticed. Once he was older he eagerly began spending longer and longer periods away, returning only to grab supplies. Out of the many children there, no one ever noticed that he was missing. For the most part Dante spend on the streets where he grew most accustomed to. Dante was a lone wolf, living and doing as he pleased. However this proved to be dangerous considering the streets of the city were full of rival juvenile gangs. Being alone was usually a death sentence. However he proved himself to be more than capable of defending himself against marauding gangers. In the street brawls of the undercity Dante learned to be a vicious fighter, exploiting any advantage or weakness he could. That coupled with his near maniacal and deranged demeanor earned him the name "Mad Eye Dante". It is in this time he began meeting many other people. This included most of the cities main juvenile gang leaders. Some of them would someday become Dante's top lieutenants and closest friends. He was not with any gang but he was part of every gang. To eek out a living for himself and as favors, he would serve as a mediator, refereeing their rumbles, preventing death and cheating. Through this Dante would gain close connections with all the major gangs, while not being directly part of them. Soon many of them became close, if somewhat antagonistic friends. Everyone came to know Mad Eye Dante, with his connections and fighting prowess, he was practically untouchable. Fall of Vilamere However his care free life would come under fire. Without warning Vilamere was invaded by traitors. A warband of the World Eaters, descended to conquer Vilamere. The fallen legionaires of the God Emperor's own Angels of Death fell to Vilamere like burning rain. The whole world came under attack from blood soaked warriors clad in red and bronze. The Vilamere Defense Militia mobilized to counter the threat and attempted to stem the invasion. The militia was competent enough to know that they could not fight such monsters head on and rallied around the cities. The capital, Dante's hometown, was considered Vilamere's greatest bastion. However despite their quick thinking, cowardice and incompentence in the Noble Houses and High Command crippled the war effort. One by one the cities fell and withing weeks the capital was the last remaining loyalist bastion on Vilamere. All remaining imperial forces and a commandery of Sisters of Battle. But even this was only expected to hold for a few weeks. The city fell within a week. In that time Dante's world shattered. Raving blood-drunk lunatics rampaged through the streets with the name of heathen gods on their lips. He was horrified with the sheer level of bloodshed he was witnessing. Streets, homes, and people he had known since his earliest days were being torn apart. In the opening days Dante was constantly on the run, trying to avoid the fire and death. He was finally able to find safety once he reached old abandoned tunnels located under the cities. The crimson giants that walked among the madmen were what truly terrified him. The symbols they painted in blood hurt to look at and the words they whispered made his ears bleed. Dante did not understand it, but the symbols, the words they whisper and the sheer aura of thousands of years of death that surrounded them, all radiated "evil". He was not superstition. He believed in beings with motives he could understand, to discern and figure out. These monsters were something he did not understand except with the sole explanation of "evil" and that more than anything terrified him. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Becoming a Space Marine Training After the War for Vilamere, Dante and a dozen others from Vilamere were taken by the Imperial Fists to their strike cruiser the Terrible Angel. From their they were transported to the Imperial Fists mobile monastery, the Phalanx. He and his group were introduced to the other recruits. Some were noble born, bred to be recruited, some were street scum and criminals, others were barbarians from feral worlds. ------- Training proved to be horrendously brutal. He and his friends were forced into a battery of tests to judge their worthiness. The tests involving musculature, reflexes, intelligence, shooting skills, and detexerity were bad enough and he was sorely tested. But in those he had the most. But the tests involving his psychic levels, mental fortitude, and pain tolerance were far more scarring. Eventually Dante began adapting to a harsher environment and relied on his comrades to pull through. Out of all the other recruits, they stuck together as much as they could to survive their training. Together they began to excel in combat and Dante's ego thrived. While he was grasping the martial aspects of being a Space Marine and exceling in combat, he was especially aloof to the spiritual aspects. He treated the idea of Astartes as another, abliet superior form of soldier. He constantly defied his instructors and delibrately broke any rules of engagment. In one notable event, the Aspirants to instructed to "defeat" three Battle Brothers by taking down their respective leaders, among them was Chaplain Casserus. Dante was named the pseudo-commanding officer, but within minutes most of the Aspirants were down, including most of his friends. In the last moments, Dante used himself as bait to get close to the Chaplain. While Casserus held him up as he chided him, Dante recklessly threw a flash grenade right in his face while he himself was still in point blank range. Casserus barely had time to toss Dante out of range of the blast. The flash momentarily blinded the Chaplain and Dante's carefully placed sniper scored a hit, ending the drill. But Dante was seriously injured in the blast but still mustered the strength to grin and say he won before collapsing. While it was technically a win, Dante was suprised to be heavily reprimended by Casserus for his reckless tactic and disregard for his own life. Psycho-Conditioning Scout Sergeant Leaving the Imperial Fists Chapter Master Personality At first glance Dante is rather laid-back and easygoing. If the situation is not serious then neither is he. To many outside of the chapter he seems rather reckless. Many of these traits are throwbacks to his forgotten youth. But despite his outward appearance, underneath the surface Dante is a rolling sea of conflict. Dante is unstable as his memories forever haunt him with visions of the past. In his sleep or even on the battlefield he relives the past and cannot escape them. This has caused Dante to become erratic and even mentally unstable, possibly the beginning of a festering madness. Even when he acts so sanguine, his temper can be brutally short and extremely violent in battle. He has an extreme disgust for any form of cowardice, treachery, and cruelty. Such things can immediately send him flying into a rage. Even if it is allies who demonstrate this, such as Imperial Guard commanders, he will glower at and even threaten. However he would never threaten someone he truly respects, and threatening the Inquisition is usually a fatal move. On the battlefield Dante has absolutely no mercy. Against any and all foes, Dante can be utterly ruthless and vicious and his tactics equally merciless. After the Ty'ros Campaign, he earned the name, the Lord of Ash. ''In combat he shows a particular preference to tear them limb from limb. After the Fall of Seradon, Dante faced much inner termoil. In the last few centuries he has lead his chapter to great glory, and great losses. The Ty'ros Campaign and the Fall of Seradon all took a terrible toll on the chapter, though it still survives at full strength. The recent deaths of several of his captains and several companies worth of battle brothers have forced him to take a look at himself. For several days he locked himself away to meditate in solitude. When he emerged he had realized that he is too unbound and without restraint, and vowed to steel himself against his inner demons. In the Blaze Ravens most recent campaigns against the Tyranids, Dante has now shown a uncharacteristic focus and cool headedness. His doctrines remain unpredictable and random, but now demonstrates a new found self-control. Appearance Dante a very fearsome man. His dark hair is left wild and untamed. But his eyes are one of his most notable features which are a baleful red, a side effect of the implantation. Topped with a vicious and maniacal grin, Dante looks almost feral. Often when attempting humor or when it suits him, Dante seems to be a utterly deranged. Matters are only made worse when his wrath is incurred. After the Ty'ros Campaign his appearance changed. Due to battlefield injuries he now sports new and very visible bionics. These include ''Armageddon's Grin been permenantly attached. His most alarming addition is a visicious array of adamantine fangs. On his left arm the words "Never Forgotten. Those Left Behind" is inscribed. He originally did this so he would never forget his old comrades from his youth. But ironically his splintered memory has left his past as a fog and cannot remember who his comrades were which deeply angers him. Ideals Dante has always fiercely believed in protecting humanity at all costs. His modest beginnings and the loss of so many of his friends have long since taught him a great respect for human life. On the battlefield he seldoms upholds any concept of fairness or even honor. Dante does not consider himself very honourable as is alright with that. He finds the very concept of honor or rules only a means of control that limits options and clouds judgement. What he does have is a cast iron moral integrity. He will not abandon his allies or ever betray them. But he will only uphold oaths and promises to those he deems worthy. If he considers them unworthy by being cowardly, treacherous, or corrupt he will glady leave them to their fates or end them himself. He also takes death very seriously, and is one of the few things that he will never make light of. Abilities and Traits Intellect Dante is a clever commander and inventive, often rely on unpredictability and ingenuity to get by rather than raw strength. He holds great deductive abilities and observation skills that further enhance his tactical prowess. Most of what he knows is what he has deduced or has learned himself. This along with his memory allows him to piece together his opponent's next move until he has totally figured them out. On top of that he has a sharp mind and is very open to ideas that seem radical or even insane. His own methods are totally without pattern and random, guided by some incalcuable intuition or mad inspiration. Memory Most events of his life he is able to recall with excellent detail. Tactical information and observational details he can recall with precision and clarity. But ironically his memories from before he became a Space Marine are splintered, he cannot remember his childhood well or even recall the names of old friends. He recalls key facts, events, and even people. But most of it is a jumbled mess he can only put together in a general outline. In way Dante was without a past anymore. Despite his excellent memory, he cannot even recall where he was born. But his cursed memory has proved very dangerous for him. Due to problems with his psycho conditioning, Dante is unable to block out dark or traumatic memories and will remember them vividly. Usually the human mind will censor and blank out traumatic memories to protect itself, but Dante cannot do that. This means that he cannot help but remember every single failure and death he knows. But the distance of time has caused him to be unable to recall the battle or the name of those brothers. His memory has also caused more serious repercussions. These dark memories will haunt his dreams and can even bleed over his vision, dragging him between the past and present. Somtimes Dante is struck with crippling hallucinations and relives certain battles alongside long dead brothers, unable to prevent their deaths or even remember their names. This has had a profound impact on Dante. Wounds of the past will never heal and will forever haunt him. This is a root cause for his erratic and unstable behavior. power. It also makes reading his mind difficult, his thoughts and intentions clouded as if wreathed in fog. This along with his unpredictabe behavior makes him a dangerous wild card. Equipment *'A' a'ificer Armour' - *'Shield of Dread' - Being the Chapter Master of a well supplied and sourced chapter, Dante has access to a wide range of special arms. One of his more notable examples, Dante owns a heavily customized set of Terminator armour adapted and modified by his chapter's artificers and tech marines. It is incredibly Grin - Dante's signature weapon is Armageddon's Grin, a heavily armored gauntlet. He is usually seen wielding it in battle. After he and his chapter saved the Forgeworld of Tritus lll, the Mechanicus gave it to him as a gift. Armageddon's Grin is a massive beast of a power fist. At first glance the Grin seems like a massive bear-like claw equipped with a inbuilt storm-bolter. It makes for a brutal weapon, able to crush, smash, and cleave all but the heaviest of arour at the same time. Dante uses this as his signature weapon to signify his will to lead from the front. *'Bionics '- Over four centuries, Dante has sustained a multitude of wounds that were not possible to heal. These severe injuries were repaired by bionics. During the Ty'ros Campaign, Dante was severely injured by a near direct shot by Tau heavy railguns. He lost his entire right arm and his jaw was badly damaged. His right arm and part of his chest is now entirely bionic and the ''Armageddon's ''anetantly attached. He also lost several teeth in the blast. All his teeth were replaced by razor sharp adamantine replacements and his jaw enhanced by bionics. Now when he smiles it is completely bestial and he is not afraid to use them. Friends and Allies *Kursk Raizak - One of Dante's oldest friends. *Vin Runarada *Zephyros Omadius *Orevar Norstom *Davianus Elceelard *Ragna Kor - Dante has always thought of the young Captain as a student or even a protege, and as a successor. Dante finds Ragna's poker-faced demeanor and lack of humour amusing, but knows full well of his potential and always has acted to guide Ragna. After Ragna risked his life to save him during the Ty'ros Campaign, and after his brilliant preformance in the battle, Dante deemed him worthy of succeeding him when the time comes. *Chaplain Casserus - Chaplain Casserus of the Imperial Fist was Dante's mentor figures during his training. At first and for a long time Dante resented him for his stubborn rules and over bearing attitude towards him. But Casserus had realized that if Dante did not grasp and accept the true spirit of being an Astartes, then he would fail. Later on when most of his friends died from the implantation process, it was Casserus who stoked the flames of his resolve. Since then, Dante has always remembered Casserus as the man who made sure he never gave up. Enemies and Rivals *Lucifer Cyphon - Dante has never seen eye to eye with the late Chapter Master of the War Machines. But he always considered Lucifer an exceptionally unlucky for what fate handed to him. Despite his rage and methods, Dante always had a respect for Lucifer's belief in self-sacrifice. He was not at all happy when the War Machines wiped out and made sure that each one, including Lucifer, recieved a hero's burial. *Farseer Uriune - Quotes Category:DirgeOfCerberus111 Category:Space Marine Character Category:Characters Category:Chapter Master